National pundits continue to parrot the talking points for school choice stating that no regulations are going to follow the money. But, they can cite no historical examples where regulations do not follow government funding.
In an interview with the Pampleteer in Nashville, Corey DeAngelis, a self-professed school choice evangelist, acknowledges that school choice is in fact an entitlement program and compares the program to food stamps.
He goes on to make the argument that the more people become dependent on government funding for the private education of their children, the more powerful they will become collectively to push back against future government encroachments.
Again, please cite a historical example where people take money from the government for any purpose and then become more powerful. In fact, the opposite is true. Those throughout history who as a people have become more dependent on their government have become subjects of the same.
As in most instances we face in the legislature, GOP leadership is in lockstep on pushing universal school choice throughout Tennessee. And many Tennesseans are excited about the short-term prospects. But we are asking Tennesseans to think about the long-term consequences of funding private structures with public dollars. We fear that in time, there will be no difference between the public and private structures. And what was once a safety net for many families shielding their children from public indoctrination camps will be no longer.
